n.
Pronunciation: ri- ' flek-sh ə n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, alteration of reflexion, from Late Latin reflexion-, reflexio act of bending back, from Latin reflectere
Date: 14th century
1 : an instance of reflecting especially : the return of light or sound waves from a surface
2 : the production of an image by or as if by a mirror
3 a : the action of bending or folding back b : a reflected part : FOLD
4 : something produced by reflecting: as a : an image given back by a reflecting surface b : an effect produced by an influence <the high crime rate is a reflection of our violent society>
5 : an often obscure or indirect criticism : REPROACH <a reflection on his character>
6 : a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation
7 : consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose
8 obsolete : turning back : RETURN
9 a : a transformation of a figure in which each point is replaced by a point symmetric with respect to a line or plane b : a transformation that involves reflection in more than one axis of a rectangular coordinate system
– re · flec · tion · al \ -shn ə l, -sh ə -n ə l \ adjective